While the news headlines are dominated by illicit drugs like Cocaine, Meth and Heroin, the sleeping giant of prescription drug abuse has cased more overdose deaths than all of these combined.

Here are 7 important facts about Prescription Drug Abuse:

What is Prescription Drug Abuse?

While most people think that pills inside of little orange bottles are safer when compared to street drugs like cocaine and heroin, it is still illegal and highly risky to use unprescribed drugs. In many cases the effects of prescription drug abuse can result in more addictive characteristics. The availability of prescription drugs tends to make these more easily abused in households with children in middle and high school. However, abuse can happen at any age and you may have experienced borderline abuses yourself if you have engaged in any of the following behaviors:

Most youth prescription drug abuse starts at the home, with children accessing their parents' medicine. In some cases, adults have unknowingly developed addictions to prescription medication like Xanax and Valium because of improper management.

Keeping track of your prescription medicine with the Home Medicine Inventory Card, or HMIC, is a fast and easy way to prevent these occurences. It helps you stay on track, monitors your intake behavior and makes your home safe from accidental consumption or theft in 5 easy steps.

DOES ADVICE DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD? 

From the moment our children are born, we are faced with decisions, both important and mundane. Do we breastfeed or formula-feed? Cloth or disposable diapers?

Perhaps one of the most common and important concerns parents face after we have a child is HOW TO GET THE BABY TO SLEEP! So we turn to family, friends, experts, bloggers, books and even if we aren’t looking for help, people frequently offer unsolicited advice!  And what do these sources tell us? Tons of conflicting advice. Even today’s “latest research” can contradict yesterday’s “latest research.” Here’s an excerpt from a hilarious blog, entitled “I Read All The Baby Sleep Books,” by Ava Neyer.

 “You shouldn’t sleep train at all, before a year, before 6 months, or before 4 months, but if you wait too late, your baby will never be able to sleep without you. College-aged children never need to be nursed, rocked, helped to sleep, so don’t worry about any bad habits. Nursing, rocking, singing, swaddling, etc. to sleep are all bad habits and should be stopped immediately… Naps should only be taken in the bed, never in a swing, carseat, stroller, or when worn. Letting them sleep in the carseat or swing will damage their skulls. If your baby has trouble falling asleep in the bed, put them in a swing, carseat, stroller, or wear them.”

Is that a riot or what? Talk about “Analysis Paralysis.” That decision alone can make any of us crazy if we don’t just listen to our instincts. WHAT DID PARENTS DO LONG AGO when they couldn’t read or access this information? Do parents know more than they think but are afraid to trust their inner knowledge?

As Malcolm Gladwell shares in his book, Blink, experts (and I would add, parents) often make better decisions with snap judgments than they do with a great deal of analysis.

So, does advice do more harm than good? I would argue, “no,” as long as we put it in its proper place instead of letting it overwhelm and confuse us.

As a mother and grandmother, I can tell you that decisions affecting our children (and grandchildren) do not go away and over time as children get older, the issues can become even more complicated. Sure, we can always benefit from hearing different people’s perspectives and sharing our own with others (that’s part of the fun of being in a parent peer group), but ultimately, we have to listen to ourselves. The answers, if we listen closely enough, are usually within.

Sincerely,

Peggy

PS. If you take one piece of advice from me this month, let it be to Lock Your Meds; secure your medication, take regular inventory to be sure nothing is missing, safely dispose of unused meds and spread the word to family and friends. There’s a prescription drug abuse epidemic in our country.

 

Sonia Ledger, Student Assistance and Family Empowerment Coordinator at Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, works with a team of 12-15 student volunteers to deliver Informed Families' year-round prevention messages to their peers at every possible opportunity.

"We educate students and parents together during parent nights, we establish a presence at football games and other events, and we've even interacted with audience members during intermission at school plays," says Ledger. "We want to reach people where they are."

Sonia is being recognized in our Ambassador Spotlight for her commitment and success in educating and empowering over 3,000 students at the high school each year.

Ledger participates in each campaign and works with her teen volunteers to creatively and strategically navigate the school environment to reach as many students and parents as possible. Ledger possesses the will, drive and determination to prevent students from engaging in substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Furthermore, Ledger's passion for the work inspires us to continue to provide the best resources possible to our Ambassadors.

Whenever a new Informed Families Ambassador Tool Kit becomes available, Sonia can hardly contain her excitement.

"I'm very enthusiastic about receiving the latest toolkit," says Ledger, who is in her second year as an Ambassador at Cypress Creek High School in Orlando. "There's so much great information that you provide and I love the campaign materials."

Thank you, Sonia, for your dedication to helping kids grow up safe, healthy and drug free.

 

3 Ways To Prevent Your Kids From Lying

Lying — it's something politicians are often accused of doing, something most adults do at sometime or another in the form of a ’little white lie,’ and something we don’t want children to do.

So why would your child lie? The consequences of telling the truth might have something to do with it. If a child tells the truth and believes they will be severely or unfairly punished, they may learn to avoid punishment in the future by lying. It is important to separate the consequences of lying from the consequences of what happened.

Children can also learn how to lie simply by watching other children and adults. If children see others getting away with lying, they may be tempted to try it themselves. In other cases lying serves to gain attention and approval. Your child may tell stories to other children to be seen as ‘cool’ by their friends. Children who tell such boastful lies may also be lonely, bored, or have low self-esteem.

That said, it’s obvious we need to know when children are lying so we can intervene to teach them not to. That’s often the hard part though — when are you sure your child is not telling the truth? Younger children can sometimes give the game away themselves. They may tell a story that just doesn’t sound right, or the child may break into a smile as their hastily concocted plot unravels.

A few simple questions can help reveal a lie, although a rigorous interrogation is likely to be interpreted as a threat of punishment and will not help the situation. For example, querying how your child came to have $10 in their pocket might include some calm, clear questions about when, where, who was with them, or the order of events.

Here are three ways to prevent your kids from lying:

1. To discourage lying in children parents need to discuss the problem with their children. It is important your child knows that lying is unacceptable, but it is equally important for your child to understand some of the effects of lying. You might like to briefly and calmly tell your child how lying affects you and why you think it is a problem.
   For example:“Tania, I feel angry and disappointed when you lie. It makes it hard to believe anything you say. If you keep telling lies, you will find that nobody will trust you.”
2. You can also give your child opportunities to be honest and reward and praise them for telling the truth. This gives your child a positive response to their behavior and they are more likely to repeat their honesty in future. Try telling them that you will give them opportunities to be honest and try it out occasionally. For example, if you know that they haven’t yet cleaned their room, ask them. You will know immediately whether they are being honest or not.
3. If your child is finding it hard to learn not to tell lies, you might need to set up a written contract signed by both yourself and your child. This contract should state what you expect your child to do and the rewards and consequences that will follow. Put the contract up on the refrigerator to help avoid getting into a debate with your child. If they have lied, the consequences for that behavior are clearly listed in the contract for all to see.

As your child learns to not lie, you will no longer need a written contract as you and your child will have established a more permanent contract of trust.

PARENTING TIP

If your child owns up to doing something they know you would not have allowed them to do make sure you praise them for their honesty, before you deal with the misbehavior. No matter what else has happened they should be rewarded for telling the truth.

A new year...a new you. While you are considering your New Years resolutions, consider this: Prescription drug abuse is one of the biggest epidemics in the 21st century. Home medicine cabinets are filling up faster than ever, putting young children and teenagers in harm's way. Start the new year off right and resolve to make a difference in your home or community by starting the new year off right with these five tools.

Did you know that more teens and young adults are abusing prescription drugs than street drugs like cocaine and heroine?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that nearly one-third of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the first time in 2009 began by using a prescription drug non-medically. (whitehouse.gov)

The important thing to realize is that you can do your part to prevent prescription drug abuse among your children and their friends by becoming an Ambassador and doing 4 simple things---educating, monitoring, disposal and enforcement.

Educate

There is a plethora of resources regarding this epidemic online and you can find this information by searching, reading and even subscribing to e-mail lists from organizations such as drugabuse.gov, kidshealth.org and whitehouse.gov. Subscribe to the Informed Families prevention newsletter on the sidebar or read our 11 Tips for Talking to our Kids about Drug Abuse.

Monitor

Paying attention to how many prescription pills you have in your medicine cabinet is essential. You can do this simply by writing in the number in pen on your bottle or using a home medicine inventory card. The key takeaway here is to be actively engaged and conscious of your own prescription drugs so that it does not create an environment of temptation in your household. A great way to keep your prescribed medicine away from prying hands is by locking it up in a locking mechanism such as this pouch.

Dispose

If your prescription has expired or you no longer need the medicine, you should immediately dispose of the unused drugs. You can find convenient and environmentally responsible disposal programs in your community here or ask your city if they have take back program. The DEA also organizes a National Take Back Day twice a year.

Enforce

You may unfortunately come across an individual or situation where prescription drugs are being offered or abused. It is imperative that you provide law enforcement with information about if you find a doctor or an adult that is offering prescription drugs to children without a doctor's approval.

What You Can Do Today

You've already accomplished part of the plan by educating yourself on Prescription Drug abuse but now you have to take action by monitoring your pills, dispose your expired medications and inform the authorities if you find someone reinforcing prescription drug abuse. The easiest way to prevent prescription drug abuse is by taking the Lock Your Meds Pledge today by clicking on the red button below!

 

IS THE PACE & STRUCTURE OF LIFE MAKING US CRAZY?

It’s December again and we are rushing around in a frenzy. We have gifts to purchase and wrap, parties to attend or to host, trips to plan, lines everywhere in airports, stores, on hold on the phone, traffic to fight, work to finish… on and on and on. WE ARE STRESSED BUT WE ARE CREATING OUR OWN STRESS!!!!

With all the things we are trying to achieve in our personal, family and professional lives simultaneously, we are succumbing to our unnoticeable addiction to technology. Have a free moment? Check your phone. Stopped at a light? Check your inbox. Waiting in line? Visit Facebook.

Does this describe you? If not, I commend you and encourage you to keep up the good work. For those of us who I’ve just described, I have a great solution that doesn’t cost money or require much time. Stop holding your breath, relax, release and breathe.

Give yourself the gift of disconnecting from all the technology and the “doing” and take some time each day to just sit and breathe. Invest your energy in appreciating the people around you and all the wonderful blessings you have in your life. Spend technology-free time with your children – play a board game, visit a park, take a walk, work on a puzzle, make cookies or just sit and talk. Everything else will be waiting for you when you return to your hectic life.

From all of us at Informed Families to you and your families, I wish you very happy, healthy, meaningful and stress-free holidays. We appreciate you and your unwavering support for helping kids grow up safe, healthy and drug free. Remember, Love Yourself!

Sincerely,

Peggy